A 12-year-old girl at school was body-slammed by a police officer who then sprayed her with pepper-spray.
The Dallas Independent School District is under fire for two separate incidents involving police officers intervening with students last week.
The first incident involved a seven-year-old boy who was put in handcuffs. Just a day later, another 12-year-old girl at another school was body-slammed by a police officer who then sprayed her with pepper-spray.
The first incident happened on May 9, when a seven-year-old student with behavioural issues started acting out at Gabe B. Allen Charter School and an officer put him in handcuffs, the Daily Mail reported.
April Odis says her son, Yosio Lopez, has ADHD and that she has worked with the school to develop a response for when he has issues. But she says she was not OK with the officer's actions.
The family has also released images, showing bruises on the boys legs and marks on his back that they believe were the result of the officer hitting him with a nightstick and then tasering him.
"He said, 'The police laser tagged me at school,' and he says, 'My body did this real, real bad,' and he goes, 'By the time you knew it I had those handcuffs on my back,'" Lopez's grandmother, Eva Alejandro, told NBC Dallas-Fort Worth. 'He goes, "I couldn't get out of it, and all I wanted was my mommy."'
Seven-year-old Yosio Lopez was put in handcuffs at school last week when he started acting out. Photo / NBCDFW
Odis says she got a call from a school employee saying there had been an issue at school, but that by the time she arrived at the school he had been taken to the behavioural facility.
"My son was acting up, which he does every other day. My son was running, which he does every other day. My son was saying absurdities, which he does every other day. And just like every other day, I was called to go and pick him up that morning on a Tuesday morning. When I got there, 'Where's my baby?' ;Oh, he's not here.'" Odis recalled to Fox 4.
Yosio spent a week at the facility before he was finally let out yesterday.
The family has since hired a lawyer because they feel the boy was wronged by police.
They say that the district doesn't have adequate oversight from staff and say the incident was a result of "failure in training".
"He was denied his safe place," Odis said. "I feel cheated and my son feels cheated."
His family released these pictures, claiming that marks on his legs were from being hit with a cop's nightstick. Photo / NBCDFW
The school district declined to comment, citing federal confidentiality laws.
The second incident happened Wednesday at Piedmont G.L.O.B.A.L Academy, where a Dallas police officer had to break-up a fight between two 12-year-old girls.
Cellphone video shows an officer separating the girls and then body-slamming one of the girls, identified as Mariana Valadez, to the ground.
Mariana also says that the officer pepper-sprayed her. She says the fight started because the other girl was making fun of her.
"The officer came and grabbed me and body slammed me then put the pepper spray," Mariana told NBC Dallas-Forth Worth. "He pepper sprayed me in the eyes and I couldn't open my eyes because it was burning me, the eyes so then they took us to the nurse to put water."
Mariana was hospitalised after the incident for a clavicle fracture that her mother, Alma, says was the officer's fault.
